The Rubber Tire Swing by the Lake
by Ayou
Summary: An encounter which will be forgotten but will be remembered as two hearts beats strongly to reach the other… Blah blaaaahhhhh.... la la la dum dum di dummm...
1. Chapter 1

An encounter which will be forgotten but will be remembered as two hearts beats strongly to reach the other…

I can't stop!!!

Disclaimer: I own the swing...

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"Tell me again why I agreed at going to the lake house for summer with you?" Fate sarcastically asked her mother as she hurled her duffle bag at the back of their mini van.

She already planned her summer vacation and going to their lake house somewhere far far away from civilization isn't included in it. Her mother just roped her at going since her mom was going to meet an old friend of hers who happen to live there and didn't want to go alone so she decided to bring her two kids with her.

"Because your grades were lower compared to what you got last year and this is some form of punishment"

The bluenette mom opened the hood of the car to check the engine and other whatnot. Lindy was a good mechanic. She herself upgraded her mini van into a monster racer but as of now, it was back to its plain function as a simple vehicle.

"And me? How come I'm going too? There is certainly no problem with my grades whatsoever" A young man with dark hair complained as he exited the house carrying a box full of kitchen utensils. He staggered his way to the van, Fate meeting him halfway and helping him with it.

The mother of two pondered a bit before answering. "I just want to"

"Tshh!" the two answered in unison.

**The Rubber Tire Swing by the Lake**

The 10 year old blond sat at the back of the mini van, looking through the window while listening to her Ipod. Her brother was fast asleep in front of her while their mom was humming while tapping her hands on the steering wheel. The trip is going to be long one since their lake house was about 10 hours away from where they reside. The lake house was used to be owned by Lindy's mother who passed away a couple years ago leaving the old house to her daughter. Lindy has a lot of memories with the said house. She spent a huge part of her childhood there and was thrilled to actually be back after so long. After her husband died in an accident, she has been planning on visiting but has been kept on hold since her children didn't want to. But this time, she has somehow managed to get them to agree (even just partially) and this reunion with her friends solidifies her decision.

Ten hours of whining, spilled drool and 2,345 songs later, they have arrived at the lake house. In the midst of the whining, Fate somehow has fallen asleep and was conveniently drooling over the car window while Chrono had woken up midway through the whole trip.

"Fate, Fate honey it time to wake up" Lindy whispered as she gently shook her daughter awake.

Fate stirred. She slowly opened her eyes and was a little blinded by the suns rays. It was already nearing six in the afternoon when they arrived at the location and the sun was beginning to set. The blond wiped the generous amount of drool and sleep away. She climbed out of the van and walked to where her brother and mother were standing. In front of them was a simple lake house. Like any old house, it has a small porch with chairs and a tiny round table. But unlike most lake houses, it was made out of a mixture of wood and cement. On the outside, the house was painted in white, with large clear glass windows covered by a thick white curtain from the inside. The door was painted in an odd color of yellow. When Fate looks at it, lemons seem to come in mind.

"Soo… Let's start moving our stuff inside" Lindy called out as she clapped her hands to get the attention of her children.

"It's not bad." The blond muttered under her breath but somehow her brother heard it.

"Yah, spending summer here might be good after all" he called back as he made his way to the van to help their mother. Fate did the same after sometime of just standing there looking at the said house.

"Wow" was all Fate could say as she entered the house. It was far from what she had expected. The inside was modern so to speak except for the wooden beams that support the house and make out the house frame, pale oak flooring that was surprisingly shinny clean and the stairs that lead to the second floor of the house. The inside was painted light colored cream with the paneling in dark brown. The living room was connected to the dining room with the wooden dinning table also made in oak. The fireplace that was made of bricks was conveniently situated in the middle of the living room with two cushion chairs in front of it. In Fate's opinion, it's more of a country house than being a lake house but she wasn't complaining. The house practically screamed comfort. It was amazingly well kept for a house that wasn't inhabited for years.

After all the moving was done, the three settled in the living room for some much deserved rest. Chrono and Lindy sat on the cushion chairs while Fate found the floor carpet more comfortable, each of them taking a gulp from the iced tea in hand.

"Your father was the one who remodeled this house and with moms' idea of leaving a part of it being original which explains the wooden house frame and beams" Lindy started.

Fate shifted a bit so she would be facing her mom. "It's nice, I like it"

Lindy smiled. She was happy that Fate somehow liked the house. To be honest, her opinion mattered to her since her son Chrono already told her that he wanted Fate to have the lake house. After her husband died, she felt the need to write a will. She just wants to be sure that if ever death has come to claim her, she would be ready (hoping that it wouldn't come until she was really really old). Chrono who was a little older at 12 expressed that he has a feeling that Fate would want the lake house. And he thinks that it really suited Fate's personality.

"I had someone maintain it for us and my friend checks it from time to time" Lindy added. Her childhood friend volunteered to watch the house for her and she hired a help that would keep the place neat and well maintained.

Even though she raises her children alone, Lindy doesn't have any financial problems. They are pretty well off. After all, she is the owner of the Harlaown Automobile Corporation which was suitable for someone like her who loves cars. The company is big and had spread its coverage all over the world. They are on par with Ford and other American brand cars which make her a busy person but she already had this outing planned years before and she does have a trustee right hand and friend to oversee the company for the time being. She trusts Letty to do a good job. So hiring a help for the lake house was not a problem.

After a few moments of silence, Fate released a long yawn. Exhaustion from carrying stuff and the long trip has finally taken its toll. She looked at her watch and was surprised to see that it was already half past eight. They have spent a good hour just sitting in the living room and even though it's still early, they were tired from all the days work and a nice sleep would be much appreciated.

The blond girl stood up and took the empty cups from Chrono and Lindy. "I'll go ahead. I'm pretty much spent" She then gave the two a goodnight kiss before leaving them and going upstairs to her room.

Chrono sighed. "I'm glad she likes this house, I thought I would be spending the summer with her whining all the time"

The other occupant of the room chuckled. She was also thinking of the same thing. "Well it's good that she did"

Fate loved her room. The moment she stepped into it hours ago, she quickly decided that this was going to be her room which turns out to be hers from the start anyway. Her father specifically designed each room according to his children's preference. She was pretty sure that Chrono's room reeked emoness.

To the right of her bed was a window, overlooking the lake. The moon's reflection sparkled on the water surface while the ripples added to its calming effect. She sat by the window enjoying the scenery until something caught her attention. Just by the bank of the lake was a tree, she wasn't sure what kind of tree but it was fairly big, on its larger branch hung a swing, a rubber swing. It wasn't the swing that caught her attention but the person sitting on it. It was dark that she couldn't make out the face of the person but she had an idea that it was girl judging from the length of her hair. The girls head was hung back, facing the night sky and her feet was stretched out as she swung through the air; her hair floating in the air as she did so.

'She's so carefree'

The blond smiled softly as she watched the girl swing through the air. Somehow, she has forgotten that she was tired. Just by looking at the girl made her overlook that she was in fact tired and a testament to that is when she unconsciously leaned on the wall while keeping her gaze outside. She wanted to go out and meet the girl but she was shy so she just contented herself with just looking at her. Unknown to her, the girl had already sensed Fate's presence and was aware that she was looking, but she didn't mind. It stayed like this, until the girl abruptly stopped swinging as she hastily checked her watch. An audible gasp was heard, breaking Fate from her trance like state. The blond checked her watch; it was already nearing 10 at night. It was late, late for a little girl like her to be awake anyway, so it must be the same with the girl on the swing.

She returned her gaze back to the swing and was surprised to see that the girl was standing up facing her direction. She raised her hand and waved at Fate who was too shocked to even respond. Before she could even lift her hand to wave back, the girl ran towards the house a few yards away from the swing. She just realized that they have neighbors and just a few yards away was a nice house where the girl went in to. Once again she smiled as she thought to herself. 'Maybe tomorrow we'll meet'

With that thought in her head, she laid back to down to her bed and pulled on the covers, covering halfway her body. Her eyes drooped as she made her way to dreamland.

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	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha characters.. But the swing is still mine!!!!

I would like to thank my beta (of sort hehehe) Indian-Twilight. I didn't exactly follow everything you wanted me to do (T_T). . Punish me later. hahaha

Indian, Momoko's hair is brown.

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Fate awoke to the sounds of birds chirping and the splashing of water from the nearby lake. The smell of freshly cooked pancakes, butter and maple syrup wafted through the air, inviting her to go downstairs to where the smell was coming from. She sat up and removed the blanket off her body, glancing outside her window only to find kids laughing while swimming in the lake. She wanted to join them and befriend them, maybe laugh along with them too. She quickly got off her bed and went to the bathroom to take a quick shower. After 10 minutes, she was on her way downstairs where she found her brother eating pancakes on the dining table. He must have heard Fate coming down the stairs because he looked up at her and smiled.

**The Rubber Tire Swing by the Lake**

"Morning," her brother greeted as he took two more pancakes and dumped them into an empty plate. "Hurry up and eat while the pancakes are hot."

"Morning."

The blond took a seat next to her brother where the plate of pancakes was placed. She sliced some butter and poured a generous amount of syrup on it. She loves maple syrup. Lindy, who happened to hear her daughter, walked out of the kitchen with a new batch of pancakes and gave her daughter a peck on the cheeks while setting down the plateful of pancakes on the table.

"Good morning sweetie, had a good night sleep?" She asked, sitting in front of them and getting her share of pancakes.

"Yah, slept like a log," Fate answered back, stuffing her mouth with food.

"Good, we will be visiting my old friend today. I hope you're up for it," she said cheerfully.

"I guess so but I wanted to go swimming at the lake after if that's okay with you."

"Of course, the house is actually just a few yards away from ours so you could just bring your things with you and change there," she said as she ate her last piece and downed it with orange juice. "Or you could just swim with the clothes you are wearing now, just like what I used to do when I was your age."

The little blond chuckled while Chrono snorted. "Grandma didn't scold you for doing that?" He asked.

"What? No, it's how it's done here. It's not like swimming in a pool where swimsuits are required. Here anything will do. Kids swim for fun, not to attract unwanted attention."

The two siblings looked at each other before giving each other high fives. "That is so cool!" They shouted in unison.

"And not only that," Lindy continued, "Have you seen the tree behind our house?"

The two kids nodded.

"There is a rope there that we used to swing ourselves to the lake but I don't know if it's still there."

"You mean the big lone tree right by the bank?" Fate asked.

"Yes that one."

" I think the rope is gone but there's a rubber tire swing," she said. She was sure about it as she saw it just last night.

"Well anyways, go clean up. I promised my friend that we would be arriving there in about an hour or so."

The two stuffed their last pancakes and drank their juice while placing the plates on the sink. After all the utensils used were placed on the sink, Chrono went to his room to change while Fate, who already took a bath and had fresh clothes on, sat back on the table. She was content with watching her mother clean the dishes.

"Momoko said that she has a daughter around your age," Lindy started as she wiped the plates dry. "I'm hoping that the two of you would get along."

"I hope so too," Fate replied honestly.

--

After an hour, they were all standing outside the door to their mother's friend's house. Chrono opted to wear blue shorts and a simple white t-shirt since he would be swimming afterwards anyway. Fate wore the same except she had on brown shorts and a moss green shirt.

Lindy appeared to be nervous yet she was excited at the same time. She was actually going to see her best friend whom she had never seen for years. Of course, they talked over the phone several times but it still was different from actually seeing each other. Her hands shook a little as she reached for the doorbell.

"Mom, relax," Chrono said as he tried to calm his mother, even just a little. He couldn't ignore the fact that he and his younger sister were no better.

"I'm trying but this is too much excitement!" She exclaimed.

They waited for a few seconds before someone from inside answered. "Just a moment." Shuffling and screeching of chairs could be heard from inside before the door slowly opened. Lindy and the gang held their breaths.

The door fully opened, revealing a beautiful kind looking woman with long brown hair by the doorway. She was around the same age as Lindy and guessing from her appearance, she looked just as nervous as the rest of them.

"M-Momoko?" Lindy stammered. Oh how Fate wished she brought her camera with her to capture her mom's astonished facial expression. It was priceless.

The other woman smiled as her eyes widened in recognition. "Lindy!"

Not long after the surprised greetings were exchanged, the two enveloped each other in a fierce hug, one that would compensate for two decades of separation.

"Oh my God, I missed you so much!" The woman known as Momoko said after breaking their hug. "How's everything going? We have a lot to catch up to," She continued as she ushered the family in.

Fate and Chrono sat on one of the couches in the living room while their mother sat on one of the cushion chairs beside her best friend talking animatedly.

"I left Letty in charge of everything. I badly needed this vacation," their mother said to her best friend.

"Well that's good," Momoko replied before focusing her attention on the two kids sitting in front of them. "So are these the little rascals that you were talking so much about?"

She smiled warmly at the two. Immediately, Fate knew that she would have no problem being close with Momoko. The woman practically had kindness written all over her face.

Lindy looked at her kids. "Well don't be rude and introduce yourselves," she said, reprimanding them slightly.

The two hastily stood up and the boy introduced himself first. Bowing to the woman in front of him, he said, "C-Chrono Harlaown." He then nudged his sister.

"F-Fate Harlaown, t-thank you for having us over," the blond stammered.

"Fate?" Momoko repeated whilst giving Lindy an amused look. "So you really did name your daughter Fate after all this years."

Of all the things that Fate hadn't seen in her life, one wasn't her mother blushing. She was definitely cursing herself internally for not bringing her camera. She would find out the reason for her mother's reaction later because right now, seeing her mom blush even deeper was her top priority.

"Oh, by the way Momoko," Lindy said as she tried to change the topic. She knew that Momoko would bring it up later, when the kids were not around. "You said you have two girls and a boy, where are they?"

"Oh," the brown haired woman gasped, obviously embarrassed with her rudeness. "I'm so sorry, I've somehow forgotten since I was too wrapped up in excitement." Momoko moved sideways on her chair to face the kitchen and called out, "Kids! Darling! The guests are here!"

"They are here?! Oh my god, I haven't even finished cooking yet!" A man answered. Judging from his deep voice, he must have been the husband.

Two teenagers walked out of the kitchen. One was a girl wearing a pink apron while the other was a boy holding up a ladle.

"Mom, you could have told us that they are here!" The girl exclaimed.

Momoko just chuckled. "I just did, didn't I?"

Fate and Chrono bolted up from their seats and introduced their selves while profusely bowing. The two teenagers returned their greeting.

"Miyuki Takamachi," the girl introduced herself as she took her apron off. The boy seemed to be a little calmer and bowed slowly while introducing himself.

"Kyoya Takamachi, nice to meet you."

"Where is Nanoha?" Momoko asked. She was surprised that her youngest wasn't around.

"Oh she is by the lake, swimming with Yuuno and the gang," she answered.

Momoko eyed the Harlaown siblings. "You kids wanna' go swimming at the lake?"

The two visibly lightened up at the suggestion. "Yes!" They answered enthusiastically.

--

Miyuki accompanied the two to the lake while Lindy stayed at the house to continue her conversation with Momoko from where it left off.

"So how do you like it here so far?" Miyuki asked, breaking the silence.

Chrono looked at his sister, expecting her to answer but he noticed that she was lost in thought.

"We just arrived here yesterday afternoon so we haven't really gone out much but so far we are enjoying ourselves," the young man answered.

Fate was quiet all the way to the lake. She was admiring the crystal clear waters and the fishes that could be seen through it. She had never seen water this pure before. All she had seen was pool water filtered with chlorine and salty sea water at crowded beaches. The scene before her was quiet and calm and even though it was hot, it was still airy fresh. She loved it this way.

As they neared the lake, Fate could hear the laughter of the kids she saw from her window this morning. Her eyes brighten up upon seeing the tree and the swing she saw last night. She wanted to ride it and feel whatever the girl from last night was feeling while riding it.

Miyuki walked ahead of them to call out her younger sister and her friends.

"Nanoha, guys, I want you to meet someone."

The laughter died down. Fate could practically hear her heartbeat in her ears. One glance towards her brother told her that he felt the same as her. Nervous as hell. The kids scrambled out of the water, eager to meet this someone Miyuki was talking about. Not long after, Fate and Chrono had five pairs of eyes curiously staring at them.

"Eto, guys this is Fate and Chrono. They are the ones staying at that house over there," Miyuki announced while pointing towards said house.

"Hi!" The five greeted in unison.

"H-Hi," the two responded back shyly. Somehow they felt like new inventions on display with those stares they were getting but the heavens must have been on their side since Miyuki clapped, taking all the attention back to her.

"Don't stare at them like that. Why don't you guys introduce yourselves to them while I go back to the house to help dad and Kyoya with the food?" She asked.

"Okay," they answered, yet again in unison.

"'Kay. Then I'll just call you when food is ready." She was starting to walk back when she stopped and called back, "Be good okay! They're new so I want you to help them enjoy their stay here!"

"Hai!"

After getting her desired reply, Miyuki continued back to their house.

They stared at each other after Miyuki left. Neither one moving nor making any attempts to, that is until a short haired brunette broke the silence.

"Hi, my name is Hayate," the rather cheerful girl said as she approached the two, stretching her hand out.

Fate and Chrono, who seemed to have frozen in their places, took the offered hand and shook it. Now that the awkwardness was broken, the others followed suit.

"Yo! Yuuno here," a long blond haired boy greeted.

"Hi, I'm Suzuka," a purple haired girl said next. Then she motioned to the blond girl beside her, "And this is Arisa." Said girl gave a friendly nod.

"The little girl over there is Vita-chan," Hayate added as she pointed at the girl behind Yuuno who seemed more embarrassed than the two of them.

"And," Hayate scanned around them, looking for someone. Her eyes brighten as she spotted whoever she was looking for. "Nanoha!"

The girl in question was just getting out of the water. "Nanoha, come here. We have visitors!"

Fate just stared at the girl before her. Something about the girl seemed familiar to her.

"Oh, hi, my name is Nanoha," the brunette greeted. Her blue eyes stared deep into Fate's burgundy ones. Fate managed to blush at the intensity of the gaze. Chrono was smirking internally at his sister's reaction.

"Um, nice meeting you all, my name is Chrono," he said, nudging his sister as an indicator.

"Uh, sorry, I-I'm Fate," the blond said, her introduction aimed more at Nanoha than the others.

'Fate, such a nice name.'

--

yey! done.


End file.
